The Secretariat of the Treasury Board of Canada issued a decree banning the use of Kaspersky Lab products on official smartphones by government employees. Along with Kaspersky Lab products, Chinese messenger WeChat was also banned. In this respect reports PCMag publication.
PCMag reported that the decision came after an investigation by the Canadian CIO Association found “unacceptable levels of risk to user privacy” in WeChat and Kaspersky Lab products. The Canadian regulator in particular was unhappy with the methods of data collection in the apps and the level of access they demanded to smartphone functions.
“We take a risk-based approach to cybersecurity, which is why we are removing access to these applications on government mobile devices. The Government of Canada is constantly working to secure our information systems and networks to ensure the privacy and security of government data. Treasury Board President Anita Anand said, “We will continue to monitor threats regularly and take immediate action when necessary,” he said.
PCMag writes that the Canadian government does not have any evidence to support these concerns. The Treasury Board’s decision is a purely preventive measure.
Previously in Google Android app to create symptoms of the virus.